If you’re looking to start up social media for a small business, you’re in the right place. We’ve gathered years of expertise to bring you the top tips you simply can’t go without.
If you’re running a small business, social media can be a fantastic way to grow awareness and drive sales. However, it’s not as easy as just signing up, and if you’re just starting out, it’s unlikely you have the cash to pay an agency to help you out.
That’s where we come in! Check out these ten top tips for managing social media in a small business and get everything off to an amazing start.
How to manage social media for a small business
1. Start with a plan
So many people who start their own social media go in without a plan. One of the first things you should do, is have an idea of who you’re talking to, how you want to come across and the aesthetic you want to achieve. Once you’ve got all that outlined, you can start to dig in to the next social media tips for small businesses.
2. Identify your people
One of the early stages of the above point is identifying your people. Think about accounts out there that inspire you. Start to follow the ones you love, the aesthetics you’re into and the content that really sparks something within you. Once you’ve followed them, start taking notes, see what works and be inspired to start creating your own content.
While you should definitely be inspired by these accounts, be sure to use your own unique style, character and aesthetic, so your followers know exactly who you are at a glance.
3. Encourage engagement
Due to those pesky Instagram algorithms, engagement is key to success! The more people engage, the more they see your account on their feed. So, encourage engagement and make it as easy as possible for your followers to get involved.
Whether that’s getting people’s opinions in polls, posting a competition on your grid or even asking your followers what they’d like to see from you, the more you get people voting, liking and sharing, the better.
4. Engage right back!
Leading on from our previous point, if you’ve got people commenting and messaging you, give them a personal touch by engaging right back with them! You don’t have to spend hours typing out personalised responses if you don’t need to, simply responding with a heart emoji is often enough to make your followers feel special, appreciated and engaged with.
5. Stick to your branding
You might head out into the weird and wonderful world of social media and see something you like, that may not be completely ‘you’ but that seems to be really popular. Before you try to copy that, one of the best social media tips for small businesses is to stick to your branding.
Don’t go off your tone or aesthetic for the sake of more followers. At the end of the day, it’s more valuable to you as a small business to have the right people follow you, than more. Before you try something like that, ask yourself will that attract the right customers to my account? Or will it alienate my carefully cultivated following?
6. Check in with your plan
You may be six months down the line or maybe even a year, so it’s time to check in with your plan. Have a look at where you are versus where you wanted to be and take note. Are there areas you could improve on? Or have you noticed particular posts that were really successful?
With all this in mind, adjust your plan, make allowances and keep pushing forward.
7. Stay with the platform that works
In many cases where social media in a small business doesn’t quite work, their strategy is spread too thinly. For example, they may have a fantastic Facebook following, but they’re spending too much time focusing on Instagram.
Just remember, if that’s the platform that works best for your customers, it’s the platform that works best for you, so run with it and maximise it.
8. Plan in advance
By this point we know you already have a plan in place, but what does your calendar look like? Say you’re a donut baker, you should probably make sure you’re prepared for international donut day! Build up some excitement, start a competition or just make sure you’re visibly engaging with important events in the calendar.
This kind of thing can be so important when planning your social media for a small business, as it helps to build momentum and excitement for big events and moments in the year.
9. Be prepared to put in time
You might be thinking about all those Instagram accounts that appear to have hit the big time, seemingly over night. Well, look a little closer and head deep into that timeline, because it’s very likely that they’ve been posting regularly for years.
To really make the most of the social media for your small business, it’s likely you’ll need to put in work for months and even years, but it will be completely worth it in the end. Just be consistent, stick with it, do all the right things and you’ll be rewarded in the long run.
10. Check out our social media services
If you’re planning on learning how to manage social media for a small business, then you’ll need a little more information than our top ten tips. We’ve gathered our years of expertise to deliver social media marketing services to many clients already that were specifically designed to suit small and micro businesses. Check out our cost effective social media marketing services and unlock the industry secrets to a successful social media presence.
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